The Temple Terrace Police Department announced Friday that it was in the process of formally charging a suspect in the death of 9-year-old Felecia Williams.
Felecia disappeared from a Temple Terrace apartment complex in May. Her naked body was later found near the Courtney Campbell Causeway.
Investigators took Granville Ritchie into custody a short while later on unrelated charges. They had called him a suspect in Felecia's death but had not formally charged him until now.
Ritchie will face charges of first-degree murder, sexual battery and child neglect.
The details were released Friday during a press conference, where members of Felecia's family were in attendance. When police announced the charges, they clapped and cheered, but later, as police detailed the circumstances of the 9-year-old girl's death, they wept.
Officials said Ritchie raped the 9-year-old girl, then strangled her. Post-mortem trauma indicate her body was put into a suitcase, police said.
Case began when girl disappeared from apartment
The case started with Williams' disappearance May 16 while being watched at the Temple Terrace apartment of a family friend. That friend, Eboni Wiley, told police the girl walked away from her apartment while she was in the shower.
Police ended up charging Wiley with lying to authorities.
A search warrant later revealed that Wiley's friend, Ritchie was inside the apartment and alone with the girl.
Soon after Williams' body was found, detectives said they wanted to question Ritchie. He was arrested on unrelated drug and underage sex charges and has been in jail since.